21f SPELLING
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1. 256 SPELLING NO In reference to the above captioned you can include a page that additionally contains an Include instruction under the herein stated circumstances The page including the Include instruction is included when you paginate the document but the included text referred to in its Include instruction is not included This message is meaningless but the writer seems to understand the message Anyone who doesn t is clearly unin formed or unable to read intelligently From instructions for compiling a user s manual In response to earlier editions of this handbook we ve been asked to give a YES alternative for this example We regret that we can t understand enough of the NO example to do that If you gentle reader can please contact us at lt troykalq nyc rr com gt CHAPTER 21 Spelling 21a What makes a good speller You might be surprised to hear that good spellers don t know how to spell and hyphenate every word they write What they do know however is to check if they re not sure of a word s spelling If your inner voice questions a spelling do what good spellers do consult a dictionary lt gt ALERT Word processing software usually includes a spell check pro gram which claims to spot spelling errors because the words typed in don t match the spellings in the software s dictionary Such programs have one major drawback The programs can t detect that you ve spelled a w2. hyphenated or open words consult an up to date dictionary 263
3. 21c 1 yourself 6 millennium 11 echo 2 sheep 7 lamp 12 syllabus 3 photo 8 runner up 13 wife 4 woman 9 criterion 14 get together 5 appendix 10 lunch 15 crisis 21d How are suffixes spelled A suffix is an ending added to a word that changes the word s meaning or its grammatical function For example adding the suffix able to the VERB depend creates the ADJECTIVE dependable y words If the letter before a final y is a consonant change the y to i and add the suffix try tries tried In the case of trying and similar words the following rule applies Keep the y when the suffix begins with i apply applying If the letter before the final y is a vowel keep the final y employ employed employing These rules don t apply to IRREGULAR VERBS see Box 8 4 in section 8d e words Drop a final e when the suffix begins with a vowel unless doing this would cause confusion for example be ing can t be written bing but require does become requiring like does become liking Keep the final e when the suffix begins with a consonant require requirement like likely Exceptions include argue argument judge judgment true truly Words that double a final letter If the final letter is a consonant double it only if it passes three tests 1 its last two letters are a vowel followed by a consonant 2 it has one syllable or is accented on the last syllable 3 the suffix begins with a vowel drop dropped be
4. N E ALREADY ALL READY E ALTOGETHER ALL TOGETHER E ASCENT ASSENT E BREATH BREATHE E CAPITAL CAPITOL E CHOOSE CHOSE E CITE SIGHT SITE E COARSE COURSE to receive with the exclusion of recommendation to recommend to influence verb emotion noun result noun to bring about or cause verb indirect reference false idea misleading appearance by this time fully prepared thoroughly everyone or everything in one place the act of rising or climbing consent noun to consent verb air taken in to take in air major city money government building to pick PAST TENSE of choose to point out vision a place rough path series of lectures 5 How are homonyms and other frequently confused words spelled Homonyms and other frequently confused words continued COMPLEMENT COMPLIMENT CONSCIENCE CONSCIOUS COUNCIL COUNSEL DAIRY DIARY DESERT DESSERT DIE DYE ELICIT DEIC EMINENT IMMANENT IMMINENT FAIR FARE FORTH FOURTH GORILLA GUERRILLA HOLE WHOLE INSURE ENSURE ITS IT S LEAD LED LIGHTNING LIGHTENING something that completes praise flattery sense of morality awake aware governing body advice noun to advise verb place associated with milk production personal journal to abandon verb dry usually sandy area noun final sweet course in a meal to lose life dying verb one of a pair of dice noun to change the color of
5. NCE measurement of past time because E STATIONARY standing still STATIONERY writing paper E THAN in comparison with besides THEN at that time next therefore 262 What are compound words Homonyms and other frequently confused words continued E THEIR possessive form of they THERE in that place THEY RE contraction of they are TO toward TOO also indicates degree too much TWO number following one WAIST midsection of the body WASTE discarded material noun to squander to fail to use up verb E WEATHER climatic condition WHETHER if when alternatives are expressed or implied E WHERE in which place WERE past tense of be E WHOSE possessive form of who WHO S contraction for who is E YOUR possessive form of you YOU RE contraction for you are YORE long past 21g What are compound words A compound word puts together two or more words to express one concept Open compound words remain as separate words such as decision making problem solving and editor in chief Hyphenated compound words use a hyphen between the words such as trade in fuel efficient and tax sheltered For punctuation advice about hyphens see 28i Closed compound words appear as one word such as proofread city wide and workweek The history of compound terms that end up as single words usually starts with the compound as two words and then moves to a hyphenated com pound To check whether a compound term consists of closed
6. ded a true ly b joke ing c fortunate ly d appease ing e appease ment 4 Change the final y to i as needed a happy ness b pry ed c pry ing d dry ly e beautify ing 5 Double the final consonant as needed a commit ed b commit ment c drop ed d occur ed e regret ful 6 Insert ie or ei correctly a rel____f b ach____ ve c w___ 1d d n____ce e dec___ve 21f How are homonyms and other frequently confused words spelled Homonyms are words that sound exactly like other words to too two no know The different spellings of homonyms tend to confuse many writers The same holds for words that sound almost alike accept except conscience conscious 259 SPELLING Another reason for spelling problems is so called swallowed pronuncia tion which means one or more letters at the end of a word aren t pro nounced clearly For example the d ending in used to or prejudiced or the ten ending in written are often swallowed rather than pronounced When writers spell as they mispronounce spelling errors result For more information about word usage that affects spelling see Chapter 19 Usage Glossary Box 21 2 lists homonyms and other words that can be confused and lead to misspellings 260 BOX 21 2 SUMMARY Homonyms and other frequently confused words E ACCEPT EXCEPT E ADVICE ADVISE E AFFECT EFFECT E ALLUSION ILLUSIO
7. gin beginning forget forgettable cede ceed sede words Only one word in the English language ends in sede supersede Only three words end in ceed exceed proceed succeed All other words with endings that sound like seed end in cede concede intercede precede How are homonyms and other frequently confused words spelled ally and ly words The suffixes ally and ly turn words into adverbs For words ending in ic add ally logically statistically Otherwise add ly quickly sharply m ance ence and ible able No consistent rules govern words with these suffixes When in doubt look up the word PAFS What is the je ei rule The famous rhymed rule for using ie and ei is usually true I before e believe field grief Except after c ceiling conceit Or when sounded like ay __ As in neighbor and weigh eight vein There are major exceptions sorry to the ie ei rule listed here My best advice is that you memorize them m ie conscience financier science species ei either neither leisure seize counterfeit foreign forfeit sleight as in sleight of hand weird EXERCISE 21 2 Follow the directions for each group of words For help consult 21d and 21e 1 Add able or ible a profit 0 reproduce c control d coerce e recognize 2 Add ance or ence a luxuri___ b prud c devi__ d resist e independ__ 3 Drop the final e as nee
8. or zeroes Words ending in f or fe Some final f and fe words are made plural by adding an s belief beliefs Others require changing f or fe to ves life lives leaf leaves Words ending in ff or ffe simply add s staff staffs giraffe giraffes Compound words For most compound words add an s or es at the end of the last word checkbooks player coaches In a few cases the first word is made plural sister in law sisters in law miles per hour For information about hyphens in compound words see 21g Internal changes and endings other than s A few words change inter nally or add endings other than an s to become plural foot feet man men crisis crises child children 257 258 SPELLING Foreign words The best advice is to check your dictionary In general many Latin words ending in um form the plural by changing um to a cur riculum curricula datum data medium media Also Latin words that end in us usually form the plural by changing us to i alumnus alumni syllabus syllabi Additionally Greek words that end in on usually form the plural by changing on to a criterion criteria phenomenon phenomena One form words Some words have the same form in both the singular and the plural deer elk fish You need to use modifiers as necessary to indicate which form you mean one deer nine deer EXERCISE 21 1 Write the correct plural form of these words For help con sult
9. rong word if what you ve typed is a legitimate spelling of a legitimate word For exam ple if you mean top but type too or if you mean from and type form no spell check program sees a mistake In these and other similar cases only the human eye that is a reader can discover the errors 21b How can proofread for errors in spelling and hyphen use Many spelling errors are the result of illegible handwriting slips of the pen or typographical mistakes Catching these typos requires especially careful proofreading using the techniques in Box 21 1 How are plurals spelled BOX 21 1 SUMMARY How are plurals spelled In American English plurals take many forms The most common form adds an s or es at the end of the word The list below covers all variations of cre ating plurals Adding s or es Plurals of most words are formed by adding an s includ ing words that end in hard ch sounding like k leg legs shoe shoes stomach stomachs Words ending in s sh x z or soft ch as in beach are formed by adding es to the singular lens lenses tax taxes beach beaches Words ending in o Add s if the o is preceded by a vowel radio radios cameo cameos Add es if the o is preceded by a consonant potato potatoes With a few words you can choose the s or es plural form but cur rent practice generally supports adding es cargo cargoes tornado tornadoes zero zeros
10. something dyeing to draw out illegal prominent living within inherent about to happen light skinned just honest money for transportation food forward number four in a series animal in ape family soldier conducting surprise attacks opening complete an entire thing buy or give insurance guarantee protect POSSESSIVE form of it CONTRACTION for it is heavy metal substance noun to guide verb past tense of lead storm related electricity making lighter 261 SPELLING Homonyms and other frequently confused words continued E LOOSE unbound not tightly fastened LOSE to misplace E MAYBE perhaps adverb MAY BE might be verb MINER a person who works in a mine MINOR underage less important E MORAL distinguishing right from wrong the lesson of a fable story or event MORALE attitude or outlook usually of a group OF PREPOSITION indicating origin OFF away from not on E PASSED past tense of pass PAST at a previous time E PATIENCE forbearance PATIENTS people under medical care E PRECEDE to come before PROCEED to continue E PRESENCE being at hand attendance at a place or in something PRESENTS gifts E PRINCIPAL foremost ADJECTIVE school head noun PRINCIPLE moral conviction basic truth E QUIET silent calm QUITE very E RIGHT correct opposite of left RITE ritual WRITE to put words on paper E SCENE place of an action segment of a play SEEN viewed E SENSE perception understanding SI
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